Sports Takes and Predictions

Should Tar Heels Hoops Fans Be Worried?

The answer, of course, depends on your expectations. If you expect the team to waltz right into the Final Four, well then yes, you should be very worried. If you are willing to sit back and watch a young team grow, then you should enjoy this basketball season.

This team has an immense amount of talent. Their challenge is that much of it is very young. A lot was expected of Ed Davis coming into this season. With his name being thrown around for the NBA draft and the loss of much of last year’s Championship team he was expected to assert himself as “the man.” While he has some nice stats, 14.7 ppg and 9.9 rpg, he has not shown the level of aggression that will take his game to the next level. A large part of that may be because he is still just a sophomore, or maybe that’s not his personality. Through the course of this season we should find the answer.

The long term answer at point guard appears to be Dexter Strickland. He has the speed and drive similar to Ty Lawson and Raymond Felton. However, he is just a freshman. He has experienced, and will continue to suffer through, stretches of turnovers where he appears to be throwing the ball all over the place. But to reach the potential that will elevate the team, he needs to work through those growing pains and the only way to do it is with playing time.

Living in the Triangle it is always interesting to hear the local fans on sports radio and see their posts on local articles. I think that most Carolina fans expect to win the championship every year. This is not one of those teams. To achieve the best results, Carolina needs to get consistent play from the seniors, Deon Thompson and Marcus Ginyard, and increasingly improved play from the key, high potential youngsters, Davis, Strickland, Zeller, Henson and the Wear brothers. As those players move closer to their ceiling, and if they can get Davis to stay another year, next year’s team will have a real shot at a Final Four with the addition of Harrison Barnes.

But, don’t skip ahead too far…this team should be really fun to watch as they mature during this season. So if you are a Tar Heels fan, sit back and enjoy it, for what it is.

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Perspective is one thing that most UNC fans tend to lack due to their extended run of success in hoops. That being said, Roy Williams is an incredible coach and always seems to do his best job of coaching in years that he has less talent.

Realistically, the lack of backcourt depth, ballhandling, and 3-point shooting will cost them some games. They have all the talent in the world in the frontcourt but not enough at the guard positions. Still, if a down year is a Sweet 16 berth, then sign me up.